Yes, I know that there's no way in heck anyone is still considering reading this. But I thought I'd post anyway. Thanks for all of you who nagged me about it, by email and here on the boards and I'm sorry for the delinquency.

Here's the TOC for everyone who's lost (including me). ToC

The superquick recap for those needing a refresher: Clark gave Lois his powers via electricity before leaving for NK. Clark and Lois also eloped before he left for NK. Lois finds out she's pregnant after Clark leaves for NK (busy couple of days for them, I'll admit). She tells Jimmy and Perry about Superman and Ultrawoman and their among the first to know about the baby. She tells her parents about the baby and the wedding and it doesn't go so well. She decides to give up Ultrawoman as the pregnancy progresses and to move to Smallville. Oh, and there's a war on NK. Clear as mud?


Here's some stuff from the end of Part 6:

Jerry let out a low whistle. This was big. Really big. Lois Lane and Clark Kent had been married by Perry White the very day before Clark disappeared and just four days before they were supposed to get married for real. Why had they eloped? And why hadn't they told anyone? A slow smile spread across his face. This was good. This would make his copy sing. Really sing. He didn't need the reason for their sudden and secret wedding. The story would probably sell better without it - you couldn't give them all the facts, speculation was 2/3 of the fun of gossip. That, and the story would be enough to put Lane's feet to the fire. The reasons would come out in due time and he might well be in a position to make this a series instead of a one shot deal.

"This is good stuff," Jerry said at last. "Way to not screw up, kid. Check's in the mail as usual." With that, he clapped the young man on the shoulders, got up, and walked away.


New Stuff:


Klein frowned enigmatically as he scribbled something in that illegible handwriting of his on the damn clipboard he always had with him. Lois had tried X-raying it a few times, but even when she had figured out how to X Ray through the right paper thin layers to where Bernie was writing, she was thwarted by his completely unintelligible script, written backwards from her perspective. His chicken scratches made her handwriting look like that of a third grade penmanship teacher's. How he ever deciphered his own notes was beyond her.

"Everything looks all right," he muttered without bothering to look up. He finished writing and hooked his pen into the clipboard. "You could stand to gain a little more weight, though. You're actually a few pounds lighter than what you said your normal body weight is. Not a problem yet, but remember, get plenty of sunlight and eat." Lois merely sighed. She knew she had to take better care of herself. The superpowers meant that her lack of food and sleep wasn't doing her any harm, but she wasn't the one she was worried about here.

"You don't have a choice here," Bernie continued sternly. "If you want the baby to be healthy, you have to take care of yourself. And I don't care if you aren't hungry or tired; given what you've told me about Clark's childhood, it's likely the baby has to be nourished the old fashioned way. Also, it'll be a good idea to reduce your level of stress. You know that didn't sound like the most outrageous request ever in my head. Well, at least try to reduce your level of stress."

"You'll be very proud to hear that I've taken a desk job," Lois replied.

"You? A desk job? I never thought I'd see the day..." Lois could understand Bernie's surprise. She herself could scarcely believe it. She hated thinking of herself as weak and fragile and in need of protection. If she'd been asked a year ago whether she would have taken a desk job in the event that she'd gotten pregnant she would have scoffed at the very idea. Lois Lane was not a china doll and she would have continued investigating until she'd gotten too big to crawl through windows on breaking and entering missions or to chase down the bad guys effectively.

Especially now that she had superpowers, she shouldn't have had the slightest concern. But unfortunately, that wasn't the way things worked. Being without Clark was taking its toll on her. Constantly worrying about him -- about whether he was safe, about whether he was scared, about whether he was being asked, as a leader, to make decisions no one should ever be forced to make, about whether she'd ever get him back, about whether he'd ever forgive himself for missing this -- was wearing her down, and it showed. Pregnancy itself wasn't a picnic, even with superpowers, though Bernie assured her that the fatigue and nausea would pass as she got into the second trimester.

Lois had an exciting, stressful, and amazingly rewarding job that she loved passionately. But she wasn't doing it very well these days. She was distracted, and her reporting suffered for it. Also, she needed to get out of the newsroom. The bullpen had always been like home to her. Its familiar sounds and smells -- reporters yelling to copy boys, editors yelling at reporters, everyone yelling at everyone else over the next big scoop and saving column inches in the morning edition, all over the sounds of dozens of hands flying over keyboards at rapid clips, producing thousands of words every minute, the smell of linotype and news room coffee sitting heavily in the air -- were comforting, like a security blanket. She couldn't imagine the wide-open bullpen ever seeming anything but inviting. But recently, she'd felt caged in there, like a trapped animal, disoriented and pacing anxiously around the invisible boundaries of her own prison. Lois couldn't take the newsroom anymore. She didn't need the sympathetic glances of her colleagues or the break area gossip or the constant din and hum, which seemed blaring to her overly sensitive ears. Her beloved newsroom was making her jumpy and skittish and she needed to get away from it.

"And in Kansas," she added helpfully. "You're looking at the planet's newest columnist, already slated to be syndicated in dozens of papers across the country."

"Hey, that's terrific!" Bernie replied enthusiastically. "So I take it you'll just be zipping in to town for appointments and stuff?"

"Yeah, oh wait, I didn't even think...the flying, is that okay for the baby? I mean, I know women aren't supposed to fly late in their pregnancies, is it dangerous?"

"Oh no, you don't have anything to worry about there," Bernie reassured her. "Flying late in pregnancy is bad because of the change in pressure. That really isn't something that affects you, or the baby, thanks to your aura. Flying under your own power isn't a problem. Also, the X ray vision? It doesn't really use X rays or anything of that nature and is completely harmless."

Lois sighed with relief. "Those are both really good things to know."

"So then, you'll take care of yourself, eat right, rest, and try to lower your stress level, and I'll see you back here in a month. We'll be able to do an ultrasound then, but I imagine you'll be able to see the baby much better yourself before then."

"Right. Thanks, Bernie," she replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"You're welcome, Lois. Call if you need anything."

She nodded and quietly left his office. She walked down the corridors of the office building on the STAR Labs campus and stepped outside into the oppressive, muggy heat of an August day in Metropolis. The humid air hung thickly all around, clinging to her skin and making her feel warm and clammy. The heat radiated off the hundreds of square miles of blacktop and reflected off the glass of the forests of skyscrapers crammed into the neat city blocks, creating a pressure cooker that ensured the city was set to simmer in its own steam all summer long.

In just a few weeks she'd say goodbye to Metropolis and its unbearably hot summers and streets choked with pedestrians and traffic jams and construction sites, and to all of the millions of city sounds that pulsed day and night, that gave the city it's vibrant and constant rhythm. There were times when Lois couldn't believe that she, a life long city dweller, was moving to a little farm in Smallville, Kansas. There was no question, however, that she needed to do this. She needed to be closer to the Kents. She'd have to work out with Bernie the logistics involved with the end of the pregnancy and labor, but that was something that they still had time to consider. For now, she needed to be near the people who could help her through this, who were experiencing the same pain she was, but who worked so hard to live their lives as best they could in his absence. She needed to be with her family.

Lois pulled the chain around her neck out from under her blouse and held the large gold band between her fingers. She paused as she gazed at it, a gossamer thread that connected her to Clark despite the distance between them. The corners of her mouth turned upward in the faintest hint of a smile as the familiar tattoo invaded her consciousness. The sound never ceased to give her pause whenever she heard it. It humbled her, left her in awe.

The smile faded, though the sound remained, singing steadily its tempo, almost too quick to measure. The individual beats blended together to create a low hum, like a purr. Lois loved to listen to it. The sound made her feel connected to something, to something greater, more important. It connected her to the baby, and it connected her to him. Just like the ring she wore around her neck did. He was always with her. No matter the distance.

********

It was late when Clark and Zara finally called an end to the meeting with the Advisory Council. Wearily, they'd made the very short trip from the meeting room to the Ministers' Residence. Clark was just starting to get his bearings about him and he'd realized that the Ministers' Residence was right at the heart of the main colony, in the same complex as the Council Chambers, the seat of the Court, and the bureaucratic offices. The next ring around the seat of governance was comprised of civilian housing, as well as schools, meeting halls -- all the things that held a community together, even when the community was a rough hewn colony carved into an inhospitable place like New Krypton.

Radiating out from the center of the colony were different wings, dedicated to military and civilian manufacturing and production, the Ground and Air Commands of the Kryptonian forces, the scientific research labs, and the university. Kryptonians held learning in such high regard it bordered on reverence. They knew that it was through their science that they had managed to survive, and the dedication to that science was stronger than ever. Similarly, those placed in charge of instructing the next generation of scholars were admired above all others. The tasks involved in keeping their colony alive, however, had militarized Kryptonian society; every Kryptonian citizen was a soldier as well as a scholar.

It was a society that valued integrity, discipline, and knowledge - all very admirable traits, but he wondered what they'd given up to achieve this. It wasn't that Kryptonians showed no love or kindness, he'd seen both of these. While they may have been more formal and more reserved than the people he'd lived with his entire life, they demonstrated these things, even if that demonstration was subtle. What they lacked were joy and wonder. Theirs was a society that couldn't hold the universe in awe since they spent most of their life in a heroic struggle against it. And simple pleasures seemed beyond them. How could you run barefoot through summer grass as a little kid if your world didn't have grass, or seasons for that matter? How could you lie on your back and watch clouds float across the sky if your atmosphere couldn't support clouds, or sustain the breeze necessary to send them drifting through the sky? What Kryptonians seemed to lack was the ability to be happy for no reason at all. Their lives were spent trying to win points to tally on the cosmic ledger in a battle against a hostile universe that would concede to them nothing. That left very little time to goof off, do nothing productive, and just enjoy the time alone or in good company.

Clark sat down on the corner of the bed in his chambers. The guard had directed him and Zara to their private quarters at the end of the hall and had bid them a good evening. They'd entered together to find a large, round, room with soaring, vaulted ceilings. Bookcases, tall bureaus, and ornate dressers stood against the walls. Soft lights from all around bathed the room in a warm glow. A large bed, covered in pillows and thick blankets sat in the middle of the room, drawing the eye of any observer immediately to it. On either side of the bed stood identical night stands.

"That's a bit presumptuous, isn't it?" Clark asked as he regarded the bed skeptically.

"Actually it isn't," Zara replied. "The designers tried to presume as little as possible; there are separate bedrooms on either side of this chamber." She gestured toward more of those almost invisible doors, well hidden on opposite sides of the room. He walked over to one and with a simple touch, it slid open. Behind the door stood a much simpler looking room, not unlike the one where he'd spent the previous night. A much smaller bed stood against one wall. Opposite it was a large desk. A small table and two chairs sat unobtrusively in one corner and at the other end of the room was the door to his washroom.

It was late now and he was alone in his darkened room, having bid Zara a good night a short while before. He'd taken off his heavy mantle with its stiff, uncomfortable collar and had changed for bed. While it looked rather absurd, he'd had to keep the heavy wrist cuffs on - Zara had informed him that while he could remove them to wash, at no other time was he to be without them. They were a symbol of his service to the people and unlike all other servants of New Krypton, at no point was his time his own. There was no separation between private and public personas. At every moment of every day, he served New Krypton. Well, it wasn't as though he was going to settle down, join the PTA, get a mortgage, and a timeshare here. His personal life, who he was, was still on Earth.

He held the ring between his thumb and fingers and looked down at it. How simple, how perfect it was. How much it reminded him of its owner and of everything waiting for him a million worlds away from this place. How much it represented everything he wanted, and everything he was supposed to have. He read the inscription in it, long ago memorized, and the words gave him comfort. 'I have loved you from the beginning.' And he had loved her from the beginning. He'd loved her from the moment he'd met her, and he'd probably loved her before that. He would love her long after. Whatever happened, that was the one thing that could never change.

"I love you," he whispered quietly, just as he did every night. He let the ring--warmed by his hand--go. It hit his chest with a soft bounce and hung there on the end of its chain.

********

"A visitor to see you, sir." Clark's head snapped up as he looked around for the source of the voice. He recognized it as Rul's, but he was still very much alone in his quarters. 'Probably some hidden announcement system,' he mused as he tried to adjust the collar on his greatcoat. He scratched as his neck where the harsh fabric had been chafing his skin, leaving a red ring around his throat. His eyes darted across the room in search of an intercom, but if the device existed, it was hidden from view. He opened his door and entered the antechamber, where Zara sat engrossed in the military briefing reports that had been prepared in the scant hours since they'd retired for the evening. It was early in the morning, but the nights of little sleep were likely to become routine.

"Good morning, Kal El," she said without looking up from the papers spread out before her.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Ensign Rul's announcement? Yes, I imagine she is on the other side of the door."

"Right," Clark replied. He opened the door to find, as expected, Ensign Rul waiting for him. She bowed politely and he returned the gesture.

"My apologies for any disturbance, sir," she said. "But you have a visitor."

"Who is it?" Clark asked.

"His name is Tao Scion," She replied.

"I haven't met him, have I?" Clark asked.

"No sir," Rul said. "He is a physician."

"All right."

"And a friend of your father's," she continued.

"What?" Clark exclaimed.

"Tao Scion says he was a friend of Jor El's, many years ago, before your father died," she replied.

Clark felt his mouth go dry. "Take me to him, please," he managed.

Rul bowed again. "Of course, sir."

They started down the hallway, Rul a half step ahead of Clark, subtly leading the way to the receiving room, where his visitor was waiting. Clark swallowed uncomfortably, his throat dry. Anticipation grew in him, forming a hard knot in the pit of his stomach. He'd met a few people who'd made vaguely sympathetic noises when mentioning his parents, but if this man truly was a friend of his father's maybe he'd finally get some answers to the questions that had plagued him his whole life. He appreciated the globe his parents had left him, but it couldn't slake his thirst to know more about them - who they were, what they were like.

At the end of a long hallway, many twists and turns from their starting point (which Clark was quite sure he couldn't find from here) Rul opened a set of double doors to the receiving room. The room's only occupant, a severe looking old man with a shock of white hair turned to regard them. He wore long white robes in ethereal contrast to the simple black military uniforms Clark and Rul were wearing. His expression was set grimly and the worry lines etched into his face were so deep and frozen that his entire face seemed carved of stone.

His darkened mood, however, soon lifted and the harsh lines relaxed until a genuine smile crept across his face. He stared at Clark in disbelief. "By the fates," he muttered softly to himself as he shook his head. He walked toward Clark, each step more hurried than the last until he was practically running toward the younger man.

"Sir..." Clark began before finding himself in a distinctively un-Kryptonian embrace.

Tao Scion stepped back, still smiling. A younger man might have felt sheepish about throwing the First Minister and Commander of the Forces of New Krypton into a bear hug but Tao Scion was too old and too practical to concern himself with such things. His smile faded a little, sadness creeping into his expression.

"From the depths of time, Jor El and Lara stare at me through those eyes," he said. "How they would have longed to see the man their son has become. Come on, Kal El, there is much that this old man must share with his former patient." Tao Scion put an arm around Clark's shoulder. "I was there when you were born, you know," he began with a chuckle.

********

"Lois, honey, I have no idea how this scumbag found out, but when I figure it out, well, fire and brimstone won't begin to cover it," Perry seethed.

Lois stared distantly at the full color scandal rag in her hands. The headline screamed at her "What Were They Hiding?" in 72-point typeface. The photo to go along with it came from their aborted first attempt at a wedding. She felt the bile rise up in her throat at the memories the image evoked. The insert boxes suggested tawdry possibilities from the expected and silly speculation of a 'shotgun wedding' to the more sinister suggestions that Clark's disappearance had nothing to do with the New Kryptonians and everything to do with being a dad-to-be with cold feet or that the baby wasn't Clark's. She was sure there was more puerile drivel inside, but she didn't have the stomach to open it up and check for herself. She dropped the offending tabloid on the corner of Perry's desk and started to pace.

God, she wanted to scream. She could feel the blood reach a simmer and then break the boiling point in her veins. Couldn't she get just one lousy, measly little break here? Were the Fates really out to get her that badly? She tried to take a deep breath and stared through the blinds out into the bullpen. What was it Bernie had told her about stress? Right, it was bad. Something to be avoided. Good luck with that one, Lane.

"It's no one's fault," she said, surprised at the calm in her own voice. How did she sound so calm? She certainly wasn't calm. "The marriage certificate was a public document; sooner or later, someone was going to run across it. We knew it would happen." Right, resignation. That was why she sounded so calm. She was resigned. She continued to look out onto the barely restrained chaos of the bullpen, about a billion light years from where she was standing at that moment.

"If you want, I'll call the lawyers, I think you've got enough here for a libel suit." Perry was already picking up the phone and searching the mess that was his desk for the General Counsel's phone number.

"Don't," she said, glancing over her shoulder at her editor. "The last thing I want is to make a big deal of this. I don't want to drag myself and the Planet through a lawsuit over this garbage."

"All right, we'll do it a different way. What are you thinking? A press release, something like that?"

"That's my thought," she concurred. "Something simple, we'll tell them that Clark and I eloped because the last time we tried to have a normal wedding, we ended up with a catastrophe instead. We did this to make sure the wedding actually happened this time. I mean, it isn't really a lie, is it?"

"You've given this some thought, haven't you?" Perry responded with a wry smile.

"I...yeah," she confessed. "After not very gently breaking the news to my parents I figured I might need an explanation. Although I've been banking on the whole hormonal pregnant woman excuse to get me off the hook with any future weird behavior," she said, a sardonic laugh escaping her lips.

Perry shook his head. "You're something else, you know that?"

"Tell me about it," she replied.

"I'll draft something up, give me a sound bite and it'll be out by close of business." Lois barely heard him; she was too focused on the sight of a glum young man crossing the newsroom.

"Jimmy," she said suddenly.

"Huh?" Perry replied.

"What do I tell him? He already thinks I've been keeping everything from him. And he's done nothing but stick up for Clark and me since this whole thing happened. How do I explain why I didn't tell him?"

"He'll understand. It might take him a while, but he'll figure it out," Perry replied gently. "And if he doesn't, he'll get over it."

********